1996 Lanson Brut – a bubble to start off and it showed really well, with a nice ripe yeasty nose, some colour, full and crisp in the mouth. Good job!

2010 Dom. de la Taille aux Loups Remus Plus (Montlouis) – I’ve had this chenin before and it is a killer wine! Citrus based nose, with some wood notes, full and sweet fruit in the mouth with a crisp lingering finish. This should live and develop for quite some time.

2001 Marc Sorrel Hermitage La Greal – fairly dark, and with a ripe slightly funky nose of tar and olive, it also had tons of acidity and a long clean finish. Very nice. I’ve tasted the 83 and 95 also and they are a producer worth keeping an eye out for.

1998 Ch. Clinet (Pomerol) – this struck me as probably a left bank wine at first, it was very dark and seemed to get all its nose from the cabernet component, which is only 15% or less in most vintages. Blackberries and maybe some blueberries made it a fruit delight in the nose. Smooth in the mouth with softening tannins and very good length, finishing with dry tannins and lingering fruit. Very good!

2005 Isenhower Wild Alfalfa Syrah – you couldn’t have a bigger contrast than between this wine and the previous one. Dark and with a perfumed jammy nose of berries with a slight mustiness. Sweet and soft in the mouth, with a sweet vanilla note in the finish. Pleasant, but not really my style of Syrah (see Sorrel above!)

1991 Mount Eden Old Vines Cabernet (Napa) – here is what I value in American wines – a perfectly lively but mature cabernet from a good producer! Green hints in the nose along with slight hints of wood smoke, good fruit levels and fairly soft tannin at the end. Needs drinking, but holding well.

2000 Lamborghini Campoleone – this is an IGT blend of merlot and sangiovese from Umbria. I was initially drawn to the producer as I own a vintage Lamborghini automobile and the producer of the wine is old Ferruccio’s daughter, but the quality of the wines kept me buying. Good colour, not yet lightening, and a nose you get when you crush blackberries and smell them! With hints of cedar, it makes an enticing combination. The fruit on palate is more dark cherry based and maybe some plum, and it is very smooth and supple across the tongue. It has excellent persistence in the mouth, and I think that the only criticism levelled at it, of perhaps having slightly low acidity, may be based on tasting it with the food, as I found it to be very well balanced. I can’t think how it would get any better but I don’t think there is a great rush to finish this off.

Our resident Port maven was absent and so I elected to bring an extra bottle as host to accompany the cheese, as I had found it in the cellar while in hot pursuit of a different wine. This bottle had been hiding from me for maybe 25 years.

Churchill Crusted Port – made by Churchill Graham, and bottled in 1982, I am not sure just what vintages the grapes would have come from, but would think mid 70s likely. Browning edges, some spice in the not too hot nose, mellow and pleasant – better than I’d expected in fact. Reminded me a bit of some of the last 1975 vintage Ports I’d opened.

Bill, I'm in complete agreement with you on every wine here. But I'll add a few comments:

1996 Lanson Brut – A delightful way to start any wine event, and a nice celebration for it's owner's birthday. Wish we saw more Lanson here in the States--as I mentioned at lunch, the only place I've ever purchased it was Hawaii and even then it was a fluke that the store I bought it from had it at all.

2010 Dom. de la Taille aux Loups Remus Plus (Montlouis) – what a GIFT the nose on this wine was to someone like me coming out of a two week illness in which taste and smell were completely lost. The nose alone almost made me cry, it was so sweetly complex. Everything chenin can offer--all the fruit, lanolin and waxy stuff--and things I hadn't noticed before, I swear, were all here. I am sure I've not had this producer before, what a find.

2001 Marc Sorrel Hermitage La Greal – what you said. Also, I note that I passed up the opp to buy some of this guy's stuff awhile back, I'm sorry now.

1998 Ch. Clinet (Pomerol) – My wine. Showed beautifully, but it's definitely at peak and if I had additional bottles I wouldn't plan on holding them more than, say, three years out. Everyone at the table seemed to agree.

2005 Isenhower Wild Alfalfa Syrah – I have a hard time even calling this pleasant. Isenhower is one of the most unabashedly modern producers in Washington state, who deftly and consistently make a saturated, creamy, well-oaked wines at the sweeter, smoother end of the dry scale in the way that's highly popular with beginners and old ladies. IOW, they know what they're doing, but I don't like what they do.

1991 Mount Eden Old Vines Cabernet (Napa) – One of my favorite wines of the day for just the reasons you mention.

2000 Lamborghini Campoleone – I was one of the people concerned about the low acid, but otherwise agree with you completely. Delightful wine.

Churchill Crusted Port – I would only add that there was a green character here that had us discussing the possibility of TCA.

Great lunch, enjoyed the small group.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Bill Spohn wrote:Marc Sorrel ...I’ve tasted the 83 and 95 also and they are a producer worth keeping an eye out for..

This has been my reaction as well, although the vintages I've tasted were from the late 90s and early 00s. Unfortunately they don't pop up too often in my usual haunts, and I'm not one to go chasing down producers since my usual haunts are overstocked with stuff I want to drink. Maybe one day!

John S wrote:Thanks for the notes on the Remus Plus. I bought a couple but may need to pull the trigger again. I love Loire chenin and it sounds like this one is a winner. Glad to see this producer in BC!

Finally went down and picked some Remus Plus up - would have regretted letting this sell out without having a few in the cellar.

John S wrote:Thanks for the notes on the Remus Plus. I bought a couple but may need to pull the trigger again. I love Loire chenin and it sounds like this one is a winner. Glad to see this producer in BC!

Finally went down and picked some Remus Plus up - would have regretted letting this sell out without having a few in the cellar.

Can I ask the price on that?

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Jenise, as you no doubt know by now, for BC, that is a relatively great price. The fact that they even have some - when they don't in the US - is almost a miracle in itself! It seems to sell in Europe from 22-26 Euros.

And it is the producer's top Montlouis wine, only produced in the best vintages (3-4 time a decade).

I had to go all the way to Park Royal to get some more, and there was only one left yesterday. I think there were a few bottles in the suburbs too; you should be able to order a couple and get them delivered to West Van (or White Rock).

Bill, I bought some of the other Blot wine they brought in (the 2011 you mentioned), but haven't tried it. The only very brief note I saw on it was from Jim's Loire blog:

"Have been tasting (samples) a number of 2011 dry whites for a forthcoming Decanter article including these two entry level whites from Jacky Blot. I particularly liked Les Dix Arpents. 2011 Les Dix Arpents, MontlouisVery pure and minerally with good length."

Bill Spohn wrote:2001 Marc Sorrel Hermitage La Greal – fairly dark, and with a ripe slightly funky nose of tar and olive, it also had tons of acidity and a long clean finish. Very nice. I’ve tasted the 83 and 95 also and they are a producer worth keeping an eye out for.

This is becoming one of my favorite wines in Hermitage right now. The 2007 was sublime, and the 1998 was a truly classic, old school Hermitage that showed very well in the company of an '85 Chave some time ago.